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LETTER: Too much student housing being built

Diane HallTuscaloosa

Published: Monday, October 21, 2013 at 3:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Monday, October 21, 2013 at 12:26 a.m.

Dear Editor: How many committees does it take to figure out there is too much student housing being built in Tuscaloosa? Before all the rezoning started, why wasn’t the city conferring with the university about its future housing plans? That might have stopped some of the rezoning and thus the overbuilding.

In The Tuscaloosa News on Oct. 3, there was an article that referred five times to “updating the comprehensive plan.” If there was such a plan at the time of the tornado, why did so many people spend hundreds of hours on the Tuscaloosa Forward Plan? Why not take the existing plan and rework it based on what had to be done in certain districts?

Why was The Grove approved in the first place with 628 bedrooms and only 525 parking spaces? If there are three- and four-bedroom units, and each person has a vehicle, that’s a big minus and is going to create huge problems.

Why wasn’t the property where The Lofts are being built cleared and made available for reconstruction by the tenants whose businesses were destroyed in the tornado? Why did we lose them to Northport? It certainly would not have taken as long to rebuild the space for the former tenants as it has to build the monstrosity that is currently under construction. I can’t wait to see all the “new retail” that will move in, since we can’t fill the retail space we presently have.

<p>Dear Editor: How many committees does it take to figure out there is too much student housing being built in Tuscaloosa? Before all the rezoning started, why wasn't the city conferring with the university about its future housing plans? That might have stopped some of the rezoning and thus the overbuilding.</p><p>In The Tuscaloosa News on Oct. 3, there was an article that referred five times to “updating the comprehensive plan.” If there was such a plan at the time of the tornado, why did so many people spend hundreds of hours on the Tuscaloosa Forward Plan? Why not take the existing plan and rework it based on what had to be done in certain districts? </p><p>Why was The Grove approved in the first place with 628 bedrooms and only 525 parking spaces? If there are three- and four-bedroom units, and each person has a vehicle, that's a big minus and is going to create huge problems.</p><p>Why wasn't the property where The Lofts are being built cleared and made available for reconstruction by the tenants whose businesses were destroyed in the tornado? Why did we lose them to Northport? It certainly would not have taken as long to rebuild the space for the former tenants as it has to build the monstrosity that is currently under construction. I can't wait to see all the “new retail” that will move in, since we can't fill the retail space we presently have.</p>